TIME THEMING

There are several reasons why this post nearly didn’t get written. First, I don’t usually make resolutions to start off the year. Second, I don’t begin my year in January. I also don’t find yearlong resolutions to be helpful – there are numerous studies that outline how resolutions often don’t work. So this year after I went through the Yearly Words exercise – something I feature in my “anytime” annual planning program The NOW Year Action Plan Course – I…

February is almost over. Can you believe it? Each year seems to move faster and faster. Is the year going like you hoped so far? If not, now is the perfect time to adjust. How can you do that? By planning for the year ahead. I know your task list is long, and you have a lot on your plate. It may even seem impossible. There’s no chance you can start looking ahead to the months beyond, right? Wrong. I’d…

I don’t consider myself to be a minimalist. But when it comes to my personal productivity, I definitely have minimalist tendencies. I align tasks with my time in a way that allows me to move forward with as little friction as possible. I put templates and frameworks in place that reduce decision fatigue so I can leverage every moment of my time. I am very deliberate with the tools I use—both digital and analog—so I know what to use and…

Administrative tasks are the bane of my existence. I classify administrative tasks as those that require more of “maintenance mindset” than anything else. While these tasks don’t move me forward in leaps or bounds, not doing them can hinder progress on other tasks that lead to greater gains. Ever since I started theming my days I’ve set aside one day of the week to focus on administrative tasks. I figured that by dedicating a day to them I could get…

“About those weekend daily themes, Mike…” That’s what my wife interjected with as she drove me to the airport while I talked about plans for some weekends in the future. I was heading off to a speaking engagement for a few days. Once I got home, she’d be heading out of town for a few days. The weekends throughout the month were going to be out of the ordinary with only one of us would be home with the kids.…